Thank You and Goodbye
by Puritina
Summary: Alternate Version - Rusty Cage PT2. Before K.C leaves for British Columbia, there's something he needs to say to Clare.


**Thank You And Goodbye **

K.C stared at his friends as he felt himself getting teary eyed. He would miss seeing them. He would miss Degrassi. Despite the ups and downs that it brought him, saying goodbye was the hardest thing for him to do. He knew that he had to do it, for himself and for his mom, but staring back at all of his friends, at people who actually cared about him, he knew that he would never find a school quite like this.

Saying goodbye to Mr. Simpson to him was like saying goodbye to the best teacher ever. He couldn't imagine being able to do half of the things that he did at Degrassi, at some other school.

Alli, Bianca, Clare, Connor, and Jenna were all looking at him. Their looks were enough to tell him that they would miss him, and he guessed that the look in his eyes said the same thing. As he said goodbye to all of his friends, hugging them and refusing to cry, he found himself staring back at Clare.

When everyone else walked away, she stayed there. Looking at Clare at the moment stirred something inside of him. It was no secret that they hadn't really talked this school year, but Clare would always be a big part of his life. He went through everything with her. She was there when he needed someone, and he felt guilty that he took advantage of that despite how much he cared about Jenna.

"I guess this is really goodbye K.C." She wasn't looking at him, and he wondered why. Did it really mean that much to her that he was leaving? They barely talked.

"Yeah..." Neither of them said anything, and he could tell that his mother was patiently waiting in the car, but he didn't seem to care.

"Clare before I go I just have to ask you something," he blurted out and he mentally cursed. Well, there was no going back now.

She looked curious, and slightly confused, "What is it?"

He found himself getting nervous as he fumbled on his words and played with his hands, "Do you think that...If the whole thing with Jenna and I never happened, that we would be...I mean do you think we could have...lasted?"

She was shocked to say the least. She looked up at him with those wide blue eyes. Those blue eyes that used to captivate him, and that were now even more noticeable without the glasses and the long curly hair blocking his view.

He reflected for only a brief moment on Clare's change. Sure, her beautiful features definitely stood out more, but Clare was always beautiful in his eyes. The thing that changed the most was her personality. She was much more confident than she had been last year, and although he had been quietly watching in the background, he noticed.

This girl, the one that refused to meet his eyes, reminded him of the Clare Edwards that he knew from last year though.

"Well I...I don't know K.C. I think everything happens for a reason," she paused and looked up at him for a moment, "Plus I'm happy now...with Eli."

He nodded. He had seen the two lovebirds around school and he was jealous, not because they were together exactly, but because he wished that he had something like that.

"Happier than you were with me?"

She sighed, "That's not fair K.C."

"Why isn't it?" His tone came off as angrier than he was. He had no reason to be angry he knew, but he was more impatient than anything. For some reason he wanted to get to bottom of it all, before he left and never saw her face again.

"Because K.C...Although I'm with Eli, you're always going to be my first."

"Your first?"

"My first kiss, my first boyfriend...my first love."

Those last three words sparked something in him, and before he could stop himself he walked closer towards her, lifted up her chin, and crashed his lips into hers before she had a chance to respond.

She didn't kiss him back at first, but she didn't move away either. She found herself kissing back but only for a moment before she quickly pushed him away and looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"I'm sorry Clare. I just...I couldn't leave without doing that, one last time."

His mother called him to get in the car and he took off, only glancing back at her once. She was flushed and it made him smile. This was it. He would never see her again. He would never see Degrassi again. And all he had left to say was, "Thanks Degrassi...and goodbye."

**So don't get me wrong, I love EClare to pieces! They're amazing. But I wondered on the show why she never really had any encounters with K.C. I know they broke up but it seems like he wouldn't just completely forget her. Anyway, thanks for reading! I also had to do this because I used to love them together, before he cheated. **


End file.
